Materiality assessment for Ibstock
A materiality exercise to determine ESG issues relevant to the company and its stakeholders.
Ibstock is a 200-year old UK-based manufacturer, offering a diverse range of building products, solutions and expert technical and design services to architects, builders, merchants and the wider construction industry.
Rawstone Consulting was engaged to deliver a materiality assessment, supporting Ibstock in identifying the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues most relevant to the business and to its key stakeholders, including customers. The exercise provided a robust evidence base to help prioritise sustainability risks and opportunities and inform future strategy.
Key highlights from the project include:
Identifying operational impacts. Close collaboration with the business, engagement with employees and on-site visits allowed Rawstone to build a detailed understanding of Ibstock’s operations and where its most significant social and environmental impacts occur.
Capturing stakeholder perspectives. A broad programme of interviews with external stakeholders was conducted to identify stakeholder expectations and priorities. We took the opportunity to also use these conversations to gain valuable insights into what stakeholders were aware of in relation to Ibstock’s existing approach, and what actions they most wanted to see taken. As well as informing the future business approach, listening in this way supports the on-going close relationship between Ibstock and their stakeholders.
Adding value through prioritisation. Using Rawstone’s GRI-aligned materiality methodology, the operational impacts and stakeholder perspectives were analysed to identify the ESG issues that matter most to both Ibstock and its stakeholders. For this we produce a clear, auditable analysis as well as the final materiality matrix. Having these priorities defined ensures Ibstock sustainability efforts and decisions going forward are shaped towards those ESG areas that drive the greatest ROI for the business.
Clear, actionable recommendations. We distilled the findings from the materiality assessment into six clear, practical recommendations, giving Ibstock a structured roadmap for next steps and ongoing ESG integration.
Rawstone provided an exemplary service, not least in their conduct with our customer and key stakeholder relationships, as they delivered the materiality interviews and assessment. The review was very thorough with valuable insights to help us evolve our sustainability priorities in line with key stakeholder expectations and business priorities. Caroline and Sarah were both professional and flexible in their approach throughout the project and I would highly recommend them.
Emily Landsborough, Head of ESG, Ibstock